


The Nature of Names

by Ellimac



Series: His Dark Minerals [1]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Daemons, Gen, episode: Giant Woman
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-14
Updated: 2015-10-14
Packaged: 2018-04-26 07:31:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,387
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4995727
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ellimac/pseuds/Ellimac
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Steven meets Opal, and Opal's daemon, for the first time.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Nature of Names

The Heaven Beetle isn’t where it should be.

Steven looks inside the miniature temple, and Pearl looks, and Sola even turns into a regular beetle to crawl inside and check—but it isn’t there.

“The Heaven Beetle wouldn’t _leave_ , would it?” Pearl frets. “Ohh, it could be anywhere!”

Amethyst, standing by the entrance to the stairs, scoffs. “Maybe you should freak out some more. That’s really gonna help us find it.”

Pearl glares. “I can’t believe your attitude, Amethyst. You and Porphyra both.”

Porphyra, goat-shaped and following an unnerved Steven Jr. around, looks up and says, “Hey!”

“You’re just goofing around!” Pearl snaps. “You’re not doing anything. You’re certainly not _helping_.”

“Hey, it’s not _my_ fault the beetle isn’t there,” Porphyra says.

Amethyst nods and adds, jabbing a finger at Pearl’s chest, “And _you_ don’t have to make things worse by squawking at me.”

Steven watches their argument in despair. At this rate, he’ll never get to see them form Opal. He only learned about her this morning, but he’s been dying to meet her; Amethyst and Pearl couldn’t quite bring across a clear picture.

But as he is thinking this, Sola is paying attention to something else entirely. He notices when she buzzes onto his shoulder and says, “I hear something.” And then Steven hears it too: a distant cawing, quickly getting closer. Amethyst and Pearl haven’t noticed it.

Steven runs between them, but he only gets as far as saying, “Cut it out! Sola says she can hear—” before a huge bird, bigger than anything Steven’s ever seen, bursts into view. Steven gasps in horror as the bird makes a snap at the nearest creature—Steven Jr.—and swallows him whole. Then it turns its attention to the gems.

In one swift movement, Pearl pulls out her spear and throws it at the bird. But it does no good—the bird simply opens its beak and swallows it. Steven screams, and from Pearl’s shoulder, Marguerite gasps.

“In here!” Amethyst calls, and drags Steven into the shelter with Porphyra not far behind her. Pearls follows them, dashing into the shelter just as the enormous beak comes down after her.

“It swallowed my spear,” Pearl says in disbelief.

Steven, though, sees the positive in the situation. “Guys, this is great! It’s the perfect time for you to form Opal!”

Pearl and Amethyst turn to look at each other doubtfully. Marguerite flaps her wings and settles on Porphyra’s back to whisper something in their ear, and that seems to be what settles it; Pearl and Amethyst nod, and step apart to begin the fusion.

Steven watches, enchanted. They begin with a bow, and their gems and daemons begin to glow. Pearl starts the dance, moving gracefully on her toes, accompanied by Marguerite weaving between her arms. Amethyst, on the other hand, moves with a more flat-footed, undulating motion, goat-shaped Porphyra matching her move for move. Steven watches with excitement, but Sola’s doubts get to him, especially when Amethyst pulls Pearl down into what is meant to be a dip and ends up being an ungraceful collision.

At first, it seems to have worked anyway. Amethyst’s and Pearl’s outlines blur, and their bodies fade to light, and at first it seems to be joining to form one, much bigger outline—but it falls apart. Amethyst and Pearl fall from the outline as if spat out by something that didn’t like their taste, and Marguerite and Porphyra appear, separating from the light looking a little disheveled.

“You wanna try that again?” Amethyst says, from her position on the floor. “With less hitting me in the face this time?”

Marguerite returns to Pearl’s shoulder, preening her ruffled feathers. “It would have worked if your movements weren’t so erratic and formless,” Pearl says crossly.

“Oh, so it was all _my_ fault?” Amethyst crosses over to Pearl and glares at her.

Porphyra trots across the floor to join her, glaring at Marguerite, who pretends not to notice. “You weren’t even _trying_ to sync with our dancing,” Porphyra accuses. “You should know how we dance by now!”

“Stop!” Steven calls, just as it looks like it’s about to come to blows. “Come on guys, please stop fighting! If you can’t get along with each other, I might never get to see your awesome fusion power!”

Above them, the shriek of the bird sounds out again. He had temporarily forgotten that threat in the excitement of getting to see Opal.

“And we might get eaten,” Sola adds helpfully. “By a giant bird.”

Given this statement, it isn’t all _that_ surprising when that is exactly what happens next.

Steven tumbles into the bird’s stomach, rattled but unharmed. Sola changes into a bobcat, ready to protect him, but nothing attacks. In fact, the only other living creature Steven can see is—

“Steven Jr.!” he cries, and runs over. The goat pays him no mind, its full attention occupied by something in its mouth. Steven frowns. “How can you eat at a time like this?”

“Wait,” Sola says. “Is that the Heaven Beetle?”

“Let me see it,” Steven says, but the goat is unwilling to give up its snack. Steven pulls, and Sola growls, but the goat doesn’t let go until there’s a sound like thunder, and the ground—well, the bird—shakes beneath them.

“I got it!” Steven says, but he doesn’t have long to celebrate before Sola shouts, “Look out!” and pushes him aside. She is just in time, too, as a giant fist punches straight through the bird’s stomach right where he was sitting.

Steven screams, and the goat bleats in terror. Sola takes a swipe at the hand, but three more pop up in quick succession, and they all start feeling around. Sola is closest, and lets out a bobcat yowl as the hand closes around her and pulls her out; Steven barely has time to shout, “What’s going on?” before two of the other arms grab him and Steven Jr., and pull them both out of the bird.

Several things happen very fast after that. Before Steven can see who or what grabbed him, the bird starts breaking apart, four fists through its stomach apparently being too much punishment for it to stay together. Before it can disintegrate entirely, the person holding him shoves off, and they land with a splash on the Sky Spire. Steven closes his eyes against the water, but opens them when he feels a gentler upward motion, and looks for the first time at his rescuer.

As soon as he sees her, he realizes who she must be. And she is everything he could have hoped for: tall, four-armed, a warrior from head to foot.

Sola, free of her grip and now butterfly-shaped, flutters over to Steven. “It’s Opal,” she whispers.

Opal pays them no mind. She is watching the pieces of the bird, which don’t fall, as Steven expected, but form into a flock of smaller birds. Once again, things move too fast for Steven to comprehend: one minute they’re at the top of the Sky Spire, and the next, after a series of jumps, they’re more than halfway back down the path.

As they skid to a stop, Opal says, “Stay low,” and sets Steven down. He backs up as he watches her, and bumps into a wall of fur and feathers. At first he thinks it’s one of the birds, but as soon as he looks around, he realizes it must be Opal’s daemon. She stands over him protectively, glaring at the birds, and Steven blushes. He feels faintly shy. After all, he’s never met this daemon before.

But he doesn’t have time to think much about her, yet; he’s too busy watching Opal. As the birds swarm toward her, she pulls out her weapons and combines them into a bow. Her arrows are made of light, and as Steven watches, she fires a single shot into the middle of the approaching flock—and seconds later, each and every bird is bubbled.

She turns to face him, and he feels a surge of shyness again. But when she offers her hand, her daemon nudges him forward, so he takes it and lets her help him to his feet.

Opal’s daemon licks Sola gently and asks, “Are you two okay?”

He turns to look at her properly for the first time. She looks like no animal he’s ever seen, with dark eyes and soft fur, and he thinks he can see wings on her back. She looks, he decides, like a combination of Marguerite and Porphyra—which only makes sense, because that’s what she is.

“Yeah,” Steven says, then shyly adds, “are you?” He doesn’t know what it feels like, for daemons to fuse. Then again, he doesn’t know what it’s like for gems to fuse, either, but Opal’s daemon doesn’t treat it as a weird question.

“I’m fine,” she says.

“What’s your name?” says Sola. She changes to match the shape of Opal’s daemon, though much smaller, and walks around her curiously.

“I don’t have one,” the daemon says.

Before Steven can reply, Opal scoops them both up in one hand.

“We should be getting back,” she says. But she says it with a smile, so Steven knows he’s not being scolded.

“Wait,” says her daemon. “Did you get the Heaven Beetle?”

Opal looks briefly horrified, but Steven says, “I have it!” and Opal relaxes.

“How come you don’t have a name?” Steven says to Opal’s daemon as they make their way back to the warp pad.

The daemon gives an equivalent of a shrug, running all down her body. “No need, is there? I’m not around that often. Anyway, I have two names. Marguerite and Porphyra. Opal’s a fusion, her daemon doesn’t need a name.”

“But Opal’s got a name,” Steven persists. “Don’t you want one too?”

But the daemon shakes her head.

“Like I said, I’m not around that often. I really don’t need one, Steven.”

But that doesn’t seem fair to Steven, not at all. Sola, now shaped like the Heaven Beetle again, is of the same opinion. She crawls up to his ear and whispers, “That’s not right. All daemons should have names.”

Steven nods. But they’ve reached the warp pad by now, so Steven doesn’t argue anymore.

Though there’s no need for Opal to stay fused, after they return, she does—because there’s no real reason to unfuse, either, especially after Garnet congratulates Steven on helping them fuse. “Just as long as she doesn’t try to go into Pearl’s or Amethyst’s rooms,” Sola says quietly in his ear, still beetle-shaped, and he nods fervently.

But Opal makes no move toward the temple door, instead opting to duck outside, leaving Steven and Garnet alone with their daemons.

“Garnet?” Steven says, once Opal is gone. “Do you think fusions’ daemons need names?”

Garnet doesn’t answer for a long moment. Elektra, mouse-shaped, pokes her head out of Garnet’s hair.

“I think all daemons should have names,” Garnet says at last.

“That’s what I said,” Steven says. “But Opal’s doesn’t think so. She said it’s not a big deal, but Sola thinks, and so do I, that she should have a name anyway. Opal does,” he adds, as if Garnet’s not already on his side.

“It’s up to Pearl and Amethyst, or Porphyra and Marguerite, to decide on a name for Opal’s daemon,” Garnet says.

“Opal’s daemon says she doesn’t even _want_ a name,” Steven says.

Again, Garnet pauses for a long time. “Opal’s daemon probably thinks of herself as no different from Pearl’s and Amethyst’s daemons,” she says, finally. “That, or she doesn’t think of herself as a different entity than Opal. Talk to Pearl and Amethyst about it. Don’t pressure them. They probably haven’t even thought about this.”

Steven nods, and says, “Thanks, Garnet!” before running off to go find Opal.

\--

He is disappointed, but not all that surprised, when he finds her unfused, and Pearl and Amethyst arguing again. He doesn’t stop to hear what it’s about before he jumps between them. “Guys! What happened to Opal?”

“ _Amethyst_ wanted to roll around in the sand,” Pearl says. Her arms are crossed, and Marguerite’s feathers are ruffled. Both are glaring at Amethyst. “Which is not only _completely_ undignified—”

“Who cares if it’s dignified? It’s _fun_!” Amethyst interrupts. “Opal wanted to have some fun, it’s not _my_ fault you had to go and ruin it—”

“Ruin it! As if rolling in the sand—”

Sola changes into an owl and hoots loudly to get their attention. She spreads her wings to balance on Steven’s shoulder and says, “We wanted to talk about Opal’s daemon.”

Pearl and Amethyst share a surprised glance. “What about her?” says Porphyra.

“Well,” Sola says, a little self-conscious with so many eyes on her, “she doesn’t have a name.”

“Oh, Steven…” Pearl gets down on her knees so she’s eye-level with Steven, the way she sometimes does when she’s giving him some kind of “it’s for your own good” talk. “Amethyst and I form Opal so rarely that there’s hardly any point giving her daemon a name.”

“That’s not true,” Steven says. “Opal has a name. Her daemon should have a name, too. Garnet agrees,” he adds, when Pearl looks like she’s going to disagree.

Amethyst laughs. “Of course _Garnet_ agrees. But I’m with Pearl. We only form Opal in battle. Having a name for her daemon is pointless.”

Steven frowns. “But—but you weren’t just Opal in battle! You carried me all the way back, and then you were Opal for at least a few minutes just now! Anyway, even if you _do_ only form Opal in battle, she still has a name, and her daemon needs one, too.”

This seems to get the daemons’ attention, at least. Marguerite perks up her head, and Porphyra stops rolling in the sand to look at him. But Pearl and Amethyst still look doubtful.

Sola flutters her wings. “It would mean a lot to us if you would consider it,” she says. “It doesn’t have to be anything fancy. Just a name.”

“Well…” Pearl says, still sounding like she’s going to disagree, but Porphyra cuts her off.

“We’ll think about it,” they say. Marguerite bobs her head in agreement, and Steven beams.

“Thank you thank you thank you!” he says, and flings his arms around Pearl and Amethyst, both. “It’s going to be great. You’ll see.”

\--

That night, after he should be asleep, Steven lies awake with cat-shaped Sola stretched out next to him, speculating on what Opal’s daemon’s name might be.

“Maybe they’ll name her Opal, Jr,” Steven suggests.

Sola makes a doubtful noise, and Steven frowns.

“You’re right. Too obvious. Maybe they’ll uh… maybe they’ll combine Marguerite and Porphyra’s names! Marguphyra? Porgeurite? Pargeuphyrite?”

Sola laughs at the last one, and Steven giggles. “Too complicated, huh? Well, maybe something simple. Like Bob.”

“Probably not Bob,” Sola says. “But maybe simple is the way to go. Maybe… um… Jane.”

“Yeah, maybe,” Steven says with a yawn. “Or maybe… maybe, um…”

His sentence trails off into a snore. Sola licks his face gently before curling up on his chest to sleep.

\--

He wakes up excited, and practically jumps out of bed to go find Pearl or Amethyst. But to his disappointment, when he locates Amethyst (it doesn’t take long; she’s by the fridge, considering what from it to eat next), she hasn’t thought at all about what to call Opal’s daemon.

“I just don’t think it’s a big deal,” she says with a shrug. Porphyra stays silent.

“But you said you’d think about it,” Steven pouts.

“Yeah, _yesterday_. I haven’t made room in my schedule yet. First, I gotta eat this.” She holds out a bag full of apples.

“Well… can’t you eat and think?” Steven says. Sola adds a hopeful purr.

“Nope.” Amethyst opens the bag and dumps all the apples into her mouth.

“Dad just bought those,” Steven mutters, and goes off in search of Pearl.

“Porphyra didn’t say anything,” Sola says, puppy-shaped as they wander the beach. “I think _they’re_ thinking about it, even if Amethyst isn’t.”

“Amethyst’s acting like it’s a joke,” Steven mutters. “I bet Pearl didn’t think about it, either. They didn’t take us seriously even though we asked nicely.”

“Ask Marguerite,” Sola urges. “I bet she’ll have some ideas.”

Pearl, it transpires, is in the temple. Amethyst is nowhere to be seen when Steven returns, but Pearl steps out from her room just as Steven has resigned himself to a morning of moping. As soon as he sees her, he leaps up, hope renewed.

“Pearl! Pearl! Have you thought about Opals daemon yet?”

Startled by his enthusiasm, Pearl says, “Um…”

Sola becomes a bird and flutters to join Marguerite on Pearl’s shoulder. She whispers something to Marguerite, who hides her head under her wing. Pearl watches the exchange curiously, but it doesn’t last long. As soon as Marguerite whispers something back, Sola flutters over to Steven’s shoulder, instead, and hides her face in his hair.

“What did you…?” Pearl says.

“I’ve thought about it,” Marguerite says.

Steven is delighted, but Pearl is nothing short of flabbergasted. “You _have_? Without me?”

“You didn’t want to think about it,” Marguerite says, a little stiffly, “so I thought about it without you.”

“What are your ideas?” Steven says.

Marguerite’s feathers fluff. It’s her version of blushing. “I thought… maybe Artemis. She was an archer, you know. Well, _the_ archer—I mean, in myth. She may have been inspired by us, too.”

“Artemis is a lovely name,” Pearl says slowly. “Have you asked… Porphyra about this?”

Steven shakes his head. “We talked to Amethyst, but Porphyra didn’t say anything. We could—”

“We’ll do it,” Pearl says firmly. “Thank you, Steven. I think this is something we… something Marguerite and Porphyra need to talk about alone.”

“I think it’s working,” Sola whispers in his ear, so Steven is more than happy to let Pearl find Amethyst without him.

\--

_Pearl and Amethyst stand together, watching their daemons. It is a curious thing, Pearl thinks, that this creature that is a part of her can and does think for herself; but then, perhaps it’s not so strange. Humans do it all the time, after all._

_Marguerite sits on Porphyra’s back. Porphyra is a boar, a symbol of stubbornness, though they don’t need to be; as soon as they and Marguerite made it clear that they wanted to talk about Opal’s daemon, Amethyst gave in. Now they speak in hushed whispers that Pearl can half-hear._

_“Artemis is a good idea, but…”_

_“What about…?”_

_“Maybe we could… and then…”_

_“Or…”_

_“But what if…”_

_It is a long discussion, and seems intense. Throughout it all, Pearl and Amethyst don’t say anything. Occasionally Amethyst looks up at Pearl, then focuses back on their daemons. Pearl wonders if any two gems have had this experience before._

_The conversation ends, and Marguerite flies back to Pearl’s shoulder. Porphyra becomes a snake and winds their way up Amethyst’s leg._

_“We’ve decided,” Porphyra says._

_“That’s great,” Amethyst says. “What is it? Are you gonna tell Steven?”_

_“I think we should let Opal tell him,” Marguerite says._

\--

Steven is on the beach when he hears an almost-unfamiliar voice calling his name. It takes him a moment to place it, until Sola hisses in his ear, “Opal!”

He turns, and sure enough, Opal is coming his way from the direction of the temple. Overwhelmed with delight, he runs to meet her, and she catches him in two of her hands and brings him up to eye level.

“You’re you again! That’s great!” he says. And then he notices her daemon, shaped like something with wings and fur and what looks like a beak, hovering by her shoulder. “Did you figure out a name for your daemon?”

“I didn’t,” Opal said. “That is, Pearl and Amethyst didn’t. Marguerite and Porphyra did.”

“What did I tell you?” Sola says proudly. Addressing the daemon, she says, “What’s your name?”

“Asteria,” she says, and smiles.

Steven puts his hands to his face in excitement. “That’s such a great name! That’s better than anything I came up with last night!”

Opal smiles. “It’s thanks to you that she has a name at all.”

“Oh—right.” Steven turns to Asteria and bows. “You’re welcome.”

\--

Inside the house, Garnet smiles.


End file.
